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Mental Health Primary Healthcare (PHC) Services

Description:

The Primary Healthcare (PHC) service detects, diagnoses and treats common mental health conditions, and organises the referral of more complicated mental health problems to more appropriate levels of mental health care.

If you are suffering from a mental health condition, you can go to your local clinic where a health worker will assess you and offer initial treatment.

In the Metro, Southern Cape Karoo and West Coast Winelands regions, the health worker may refer you onto more specialised care offered by a mental health (psychiatric) nurse, where available. An appointment would need to be made to see the mental health nurse at the clinic as the nurse visits several clinics in a week. The mental health nurse may further assess your mental health condition to enable them to provide the most effective treatment. Treatment may include medication as well as short-term individual or group counselling and support. The mental health nurse may consult with the regional psychologist or psychiatrist (or other members of the regional mental health team) when additional expertise is required. If necessary, the mental health nurse may set up an appointment with one of these specialists for further assessment at the PHC clinic. In the Boland/Overberg region, mental health care is offered at PHC clinics with support to the nurses available from the mental health nurse or the sessional psychiatrist.

Support Groups

Additional support besides clinic visits may be necessary to promote and maintain good mental health, and clients may be advised to attend psychosocial rehabilitation support groups where necessary and available. Consult the mental health directory or ask your local clinic or mental health nurse about groups in your area. Some groups are run by Department of Health workers while others, particularly in the metro region, are run by NGOs partially subsidised by the department.

Group Homes

The Department of Health also gives partial subsidies to NGOs in some regions who offer group homes for adults with mental illness and day care centres for children under 18 years of age with profound and severe intellectual disability. Enquiries about vacancies at these NGO-run facilities would need to be directed to the NGO concerned (See mental health directory).

First-time visitors to a local clinic will be asked to fill out a form and a folder will be opened for the patient. Bring your ID book. A referral letter from the clinic will be required when visiting a hospital. Hospitals will ask for your most recent payslip/income assessment (IRP5). Bring your hospital card if previously registered at the hospital.